Batting means for mechanical baseball games



July W, 1951 W. G. GROHMAN EFAL BATTING MEANS FOR MECHANICAL BASEBALL GAMES Filed June 17, 1949' 2 Sheets-Sheet l lol 0 B Y A July 10, 1951 w. G. GROHMAN El'AL 2,559,872

BATTING MEANS FOR MECHANICAL BASEBALL GAMES Filed June 17, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5/ I M71752 6 ko/WM Md 4.9% d l 'mvraep Civawm/v,

Q I 50 (54 45 /A VA f0/5.

44 5 M a I My flmzme/ Patented July 10, 195 1 UNITED STATES eATENT OFFICE BATTING S FOR MECHANICAL BASEBALL GAMES Walter G. Grohman and Sanford H. Grohman, New York, N. Y.

Application June 17, 1949, Serial No. 99,598

17 Claims.

The present invention relates to game apparatus and more particularly to mechanical baseball game devices, and mechanism adaptable for use in a variety of formationsfor playing other games involving the hitting of a ball or similar element. These devices are for table type' games. W 7

An object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved mechanical game apparatus of the character mentioned, which permits the pitching of a ball to catchers position, along more than just merelyone fixed route, and in various ways emulating incidents of actual ball pitching. I

Another object is to provide novel and improved mechanical game apparatus or" the nature set forth, wherein the player at batters position, can at will, hit a ground ball or a fly-a) A further object of this invention is to provide novel and improved constructions in game devices of the kind described, which are reasonably cheap to manufacture, easy to use, permitting skill to be a factor in their manipulation, yielding great entertainment value to both young and' 01d, and efficient in carrying out the purposesfor which they aredesigned.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent; as this disclosure proceeds.

In theac'companying drawings forming part of this specification, similar characters of refer} ence indicate corresponding parts in all the views. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a mechanical baseball game apparatus embodying the teach ings of this invention. In View is the top of the game board. The bat is omitted to attain clarity of illustration.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the game board. Various partsof mechanism used to manipulate bat action, are not shown.

Fig. 3' is a fragmentary sectional view taken at lines 33 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a part of the ball pitching mechanism appearing in Fig. 2, and various positions such part may" assume in its manipulation.

Fig.5 is an enlarged fragmentary top view of the game board, showing particularly the home plate region thereof. The bat is shown mountedand'in position ready to be released to bat a'pitched ball.

Fig. 6 is a section taken at lines 6''5"in Fig. 5. It may'here be noted that the bat has a rotatable tip" carrying a blade or other suitable attach-v meIitlntendedto'lift the ball as it is being Struck;

. 2 Also shown in this view is mechanism the player fat bat may at his option manipulate to rotate the bats tip abit in order to bat out a ffly.

Fig. 7 is a plan top view of the bat as seen in Fig. 5. k p c A,

Fig. 8 is an end View ofthe bat. v

Fig s. 9 and 10 are perspective views of bat tip attachments. V p A e In the drawings, the numeral I5 designates generally a game board which may be the raised fioorspaced above theslanted bottom iii of ,a shallow boxstructure ll It is common in the art that the face of the game board [She printed or otherwise suitably decorated to show a baseball field layout and have holes therethrough at various .positions for the ball to fall through, to be finally collected at the opening I8. Such holes include the one indicated at [9 which 1511311 6 catchers position behind home plate 20,

and those at 21,22 and 23 which respectively are at the positions of first, second and third base, and also the holes 25 at other fieldpositions,- or elsewhere as may be desired. Each of these holes usually has a sheet metal element serving a semi circular fence thereabout, for in-,

stance as indicated at 25 and 26. The ball 21 maybea marble of diameter a bit less than that of the holes. The game is for twoplayers. One

acts as pitcher workingwith knob 28 in hand.

The ot her acts as batter, manipulating the bat 45L In about the center region of the. field the game board [5 is provided with a slot 30, along the line from home plateZQ to second base position 22. I slidably mountedalong said line on th'eunde'r'side of the game board, is theT-shaped member 3| supportedby straps 32 and 33. Slight lateral. movement is permitted member .3l at; strap 32:, ahd' a little more lateral movement. of said member is permitted at strap 33'. A tension spring 3-4 is connected at one end to member 31 and extendsin the direction of home plate 20. The other end of .said spring 34 is sl'e'cured to the game board is; The strings ssand seri s to knob 28; are threaded respectively through thehols' 31' and 38 i n the front Wall of the box structure l1, and secured at spaced points dlljand'fli'on the member 3!, whereby said member ca'n'be moved andsteered by suitable manip u latio'n of the knob 23; toassume numerous positions'betw'ee'n'tho'se indicated at 3 l' andfil", and alongthe mentioned line. A pin 42, secu ed tojmember' 3i. extends through the slot t flland ca ies over thgt'rhe' board 15, the upright channl-sh'aped element-'43. Said'pin 42' is free for some lateral movement within the slot 35. The channel of element 43 is open towards home plate 2!). It is evident that upon pulling on the knob 28 so that spring 34 is stressed and a ball 21 being placed against the element 43, or in the path of the movement of said element when the knob 28 is let go, that the ball 2'! will be struck, or pushed or otherwise propelled to home plate 25. It is found that with practice, skill is developed so that with various manipulations of the knob 28, the ball is pitched as a fast ball, a slow ball, a curve ball, or to involve other incidents of ball movement emulating actual pitching experience. Of special note are the use of the strings 35 and 36, instead of the usual constructions where the player moves member 3| by direct hold thereof or of a handle rigidly extending therefrom. The flexible connection offered by said strings 35 and 35, permits pitching manipulations for accomplishing the various pitched ball behaviors, and sometimes because of their speculative action causes the pitching of wild balls, foul balls and the like.

The bat, denoted generally by the numeral 44, is an elongated member of round, square or other suitable cross section, whose tip portion 45 is axially rotatably mounted on the bat body 48. The numeral 49 indicates a pin shaft extending longitudinally through the bat body 48 and revolvably carried thereby. Said shaft extends from both ends of said bat body. The tip portion 45 is fixedly carried at one end of said shaft, and a gear 50 is fixedly carried on the other shaft end. A ball-lifting blade 5! or other suitably shaped element 52, is carried on the tip portion 45 along the bat and extends forwardly thereof so that it meets a pitched ball before said ball reaches the bat tip proper. Near the gear-end, the bat body 48 is provided with a hole 53, and a little spaced from said hole is another hole 54, a little further away from the gear 50; such holes being in parallel relation.

A tubular element 55, is uprightly fixed through the game board 15. It extends above the game board, a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the bat 44, and below said board, where it carries revolvably mounted thereon, the collar 55. Said tubular element 55 serves as the axis of swing of the bat; the bat being adapted to be set resting on the game board 15, with the upper part of element 55 positioned through and in good fit as an axis in the hole 54. The position of said axis tube 55 is such that the tip portion 45 of the bat is across home plate 20, when the line of the bat 44 is substantially perpendicular to the line of the slot 35. Such axis position is deemed most suitable.

'A pin 53 extends upwardly from the collar 56, through the arcuate slot 51 in the game board l5, and into hole 53 in the bat 44. A tension coil spring 59, is secured at one end to the underside of the game board 15, and at its other end to the periphery of the collar 56, and so arranged as to contact a portion of the collars periphery, and when said collar is rotated so that the tip 45 of the bat is behind home plate position 25, the bat 44 will be spring loaded. Of course, other suitable spring loading means may be employed for this purpose. It is to be noted, that movement of the bat 44 will move the collar 56, when the bat is mounted on element 55 and in engagement with the pin 58, and swung.

One or more teeth 60 atop the vertically positioned, vertically slidably mounted rod 5|, are intended for giving a slight turn to the bat tip 45, at the batters option. Normally said rod 5! is so positioned that its teeth are below the lowest point of the gear 5i], and only upon said rod 5| being raised shall said teeth be in the locus of movement of the teeth of said gear so as to engage same. Said rod 6! may pass through hole 52 in the game board l5, and is slidably supported through a bracket 63, secured to the underside of said game board. A pin 54, slidably positioned through the tubular element 55, extends a bit upwardly therefrom, and also from the lower end of said tubular element. A lever 55, pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to a fixed bracket 68, at 61, has one of its ends pivotally connected to the lower end of the pin 54, and the other of its ends pivotally connected to the lower end of the rod 6!, so that when the pin 54 is pushed down into tube 55, the rod 6! will be raised. A compression spring 58 serves to hold the rod 61 in its lowered position, and element 59 acts as a stop when it contacts the bottom N5 of the box structure ii. The pivotal connections at the ends of the lever 55, are indicated by the numerals 10 and H.

Untouched, the normal rest position of the bat 44, is such that its tip portion 45 is forward of home plate 20. The blade 5! is set resting on the surface of the game board (5.

In play, the player acting as a batter, keeps a finger of one hand on the pin 54, and with a finger of his other hand, he swings the bat 44 about axis 55, and holds the bat at a position behind home plate, thereby stressing the spring 59. The bat 44 is now in position to be swung to strike a ball 21, travelling towards home plate due to manipulation of the pitching mechanism by the player acting as pitcher, who deals with the knob 28, after placing a ball against or in the path of the element 43.

At a time he deems it appropriate, as the ball approaches him, the batter releases hold of the bat 44, so that it will swing about axis 55, due to action of the stressed spring 59, and strike the oncoming ball. To hit a ground ball, meaning that the ball shall rebound from the bat and constantly remain on the game board l5, pin 64 is to be untampered with. To hit a fiy ball, meaning that the ball shall rebound from the bat, upwardly into the air, then it is necessary that prior to release of the spring-loaded bat 44, the pin 64 is pushed and held downward by the batters finger on said pin, thus bringing the rod 6| upwards a measured extent when stop element 5| contacts the board i5. In this situation, the gear 5|] will engage teeth to at about when the bat 44 swings past home plate 25. Such gear engagement will cause the blade 51 to lift the ball as said ball is being struck by the bat, due to the slight turn of the bat tip portion 45. The extent of such turning movement of the bat tip 45 with shaft 49, when gear 55 is turned by the raised teeth 60, and the distance the blade 5i now at position 5!, extends forwardly of the bat, should be small enough to accomplish the fly ball, because if either of these two factors is larger than is necessary, the ball 2i will be thrown rearwardly from off the bat 44, instead of in the forwardly direction. An occasional rearward thrust of the ball after it reaches the bat, does occur with the operation of this apparatus. This makes the game more interesting as it emulates an incident of actual ball playing.

The player acting as batter, in keeping his finger on the pin 54, whether he sets the batting mechanism for ground or fly ball, and the short 5. scope of movement required of the rod 6| to set the teeth Bil into gear-engagement position, make it practically undiscernable to the pitcher, whether the batter intends to hit a ground or a fiy ball.

Batting stations may be at the right or the left of home plate 221. If both right and left batting stations are desired, only one bat 2 is required, with its blade 51 removable to be set as required either as shown in full lines in Fig. '8, or as designated by the numeral 15'! in said view. Of course, "another axis tube 155 is required as well as another set of components to spring-load the bat, and to cause axial rotary movement of the bat tip portion.

Altho the mechanisms taught herein are shown applied to a game apparatus of the base-ball type of game, it can be easily understood by those versed in this art, that said mechanisms slightly varied to suit particular purposes, are readily adaptable for apparatus to play other games, as for instance foot-ball, hockey, and other games where hitting a ball is an incident of play, whether the ball is pitched or hit from rest, or hit in motion.

This invention is capable of numerous forms, and as explained is adapted for various applica tions without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiment shown herein be deemed illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific description herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

We claim:

1. In a game apparatus of the character described, the combination of a game board, a bat body movably mounted on the board, an element rotatably mounted on the bat body and positioned to contact a ball directed to the bat and means carried part on the bat body and part on the board, adapted to cooperate during at least part of the movement of the bat body, to rotate said element.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said element is a bat tip axially rotatably mounted on the bat :body as an extension of said bat body.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said element is a bat tip axially rotatably mounted on the bat body as an extension thereof, and including another element extending laterally from such bat tip and positioned to contact the underside of a ball directed to the bat, where, upon rotation of the bat tip, said second element will lift the ball while said ball is being struck by the bat tip.

4. The combination as defined in claim 1, where that part of the cooperating means carried on the board is movably mounted on said board, and including a means for shifting said part, into and out of the path of the other part of the said cooperating means.

5. In a game apparatus of the character described, the combination of a game board, a bat bod movably mounted on the board, a bat tip extending from the bat body and axially rotatably mounted thereon, an element movable with the bat body, arranged to rotate with the bat tip, and means mounted on the board, positioned in the path of movement of said element, and adapted to rotate said element when in con tact therewith upon movement of the bat body 6 on the board, whereupon the bat tip is axially rotated.

6, The combination as defined in claim 5, wherein the bat tip is in alignment with the bat body.

7. The combination as defined in claim '5 wherein the bat body is swingably mounted on the board.

'8. The combination as defined in claim 5, wherein the extent of movement of the .mentioned element, while said element and the means to rotate same are in contact, is such as to cause the bat tip to axially rotate a comparatively small part of .a revolution.

9. The combination as defined in claim 5, including spring means arranged to be stressed upon manual hold and movement of the bat body away from a predetermined rest position, and adapted to automatically forcibly return the bat body to its rest position upon release of hold of said bat body.

10. The combination as defined in claim 5,. including another element extending laterally from the bat tip and positioned to contact the underside of a ball directed to the bat, where, upon rotation of the bat tip, said second element will lift the ball while said ball is being struck by the bat tip.

11. The combination as defined in claim 5, wherein the means on the board in the path of movement of the mentioned element is movably mounted on said board, and includes a means for shifting said first means into and out of the said path.

12. The combination as defined in claim 5, wherein the element is a gear, and the mentioned means is a rack.

13. The combination as defined in claim 5, wherein the element is a gear, and the mentioned means is a rack, and wherein said rack is movably mounted on the game board, and including a means for'shifting said rack into and out of the path of said gear.

14. The combination as defined in claim 5, wherein the element is a gear, and the mentioned means is a rack, and wherein said rack is movably mounted on the game board and normally out of the path of said gear, and including a means for shifting said rack into the path of said gear.

15. In a game apparatus of the character described, the combination of a game board, a bat body movably mounted on the board; said bat body having a bore longitudinall therethrough, a shaft revolvably positioned in said bore and extending from both ends 01" the bat body, a bat tip securely carried on one end of the shaft, a gear securely carried on the other end of the shaft, and a rack means mounted on the board in the path of the gear, adapted to rotate the gear upon engagement therewith.

16. In a game apparatus of the character described, the combination of a game board, a bat body swingably mounted on the board, a bat tip extending from the bat body and axially rotatably mounted thereon, a gear carried b the bat body and rotating with the bat tip, a rack means movably mounted on the board and shiftable to a position in the path of the gear whereby upon being contacted by the gear, the gear will be rotated, an operating member slidably mounted through the bat body along the axis of swing of the bat body, and extending from the bat body so that said operating member may be manually moved along the line of said axis, and means cons I necting the rack and said operating member, whereby upon movement of said operating member in one direction the rack will be shifted to a position in the path of the gear, and upon movement of said operating member in the opposite direction, the rack will be shifted out of the path of the gear.

17. The combination as defined in claim 16, including spring means for maintaining the operating member in such position that the rack means is in one of its positions with respect to the path of the gear. W

WALTER G. GROHMAN. SANFORD H. GROHMAN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Voorhees June 4, 1901 Stonebridge Sept. 19, 1922 Luckenbill May 25, 1926 Stewart Sept. 13, 1927 Jacobs Aug. 6, 1935 Blackmore Nov. 24, 1936 

